Harrison, Benjamin, 1726-1791

<p>Benjamin Harrison V (April 5, 1726 – April 24, 1791) was an American planter, merchant and politician who served as a legislator in colonial Virginia, following a precedent of public service established by his namesakes. He signed both the Continental Association and the United States Declaration of Independence and is known as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He served as Virginia's governor from 1781 to 1784.</p>

<p>Harrison worked an aggregate of three decades in the Virginia House of Burgesses, representing Surry County and Charles City County. He was among the early patriots to formally protest measures that King George III and the British Parliament imposed upon the American colonies, leading to the American Revolution. Harrison was a slaveholder, but in 1772 he joined a petition to the king, requesting that he abolish the slave trade.</p>

<p>As a delegate to the Continental Congress and chairman of its Committee of the whole, Harrison attended and presided over the final debate of the Declaration of Independence. He was one of its signers in 1776. The Declaration included a foundational philosophy of the United States: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."</p>

<p>Harrison was elected as Virginia's fifth governor; his administration was marked by its futile struggle with a state treasury decimated by the Revolutionary War. He later returned to the Virginia House for two final terms. In disagreement with his normal ally George Washington, Harrison in 1788 cast one of his last votes in opposition to the nation's Constitution, for its lack of a bill of rights. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia. Two of his descendants became United States presidents—son William Henry Harrison and great-grandson Benjamin Harrison.</p>

<p>Benjamin Harrison was born in Berkeley Virginia in 1726. He attended William and Mary College in Williamsburg, but was unable to complete his studies due to the sudden death of his father and two sisters in a lightening strike. He was elected to the House of Burgesses at the age of 38. In 1764, when the House defied the Royal Governor and passed the Stamp Act Resolutions, the Governor tried to bribe Harrison with an appointment to the executive council. He refused the appointment and instead declared a devotion to republican principles. Elected to the Continental Congress in 1774, he was one of a party of representatives who, the following year, attended General Washington in Cambridge to plan the future of the American Army.</p>

<p>In 1777 he returned to Virginia to a seat in the House of Burgesses and also to serve as a lieutenant in his county militia. He was chosen Speaker of the House in 1778, and elected Governor of the State of Virginia in 1782. He retired from the Governor's office after five years service. Harrison suffered with gout during his later years. He died in 1791 at the age of 65.</p>

<p>His son, William Henry Harrison, was elected ninth President of the United States.</p>

<ul><b>RACES</b>
<li> 02/02/1789 VA District 10 Lost 0.00% (-100.00%)</li>
<li>11/30/1788 VA Governor Lost 0.00% (-100.00%)</li>
<li>06/01/1788 Virginia Ratifying Convention Won 50.00% (+0.00%)</li>
<li>11/30/1783 VA Governor Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>11/30/1782 VA Governor Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>11/30/1781 VA Governor Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1776 VA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1775 VA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1774 VA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>08/01/1774 VA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
</ul>